RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

• New Orleans was named one of the “Best Cities in North America” by readers of Travel + Leisure as part of the magazine's annual World's Best Awards.
  • New Orleans was ranked No. 2, second only to Charleston and ranking above New York, San Francisco and Chicago.
  • This is the third consecutive year that New Orleans has garnered a No. 2 spot on the list, ranking number one for nightlife and number two for dining overall.
• Construction has begun on a new terminal at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, set to debut in 2018.
  • This $826 million project will feature 30 gates, a 2,000-car parking garage, a central utility plant and a ground transportation staging area.
  • The new terminal is projected to have a $3.2 billion annual economic impact on tourism in New Orleans.
• Two new hotel brands will debut in New Orleans' Central Business District this spring:
  • The Ace Hotel New Orleanswill debut on March 14 in a historic 1928 Art Deco building with 234 rooms.
    • The hotel's signature restaurant will be called Josephine Estelle and is the brainchild of Memphis James Beard Award finalists Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman. Phillip Mariano, former chef de cuisine of Domenica, will serve as executive chef of Josephine Estelle, blending flavors of the American South with Italian influence
    • The hotel will also feature Stumptown Coffee Roasters with the lauded coffee brand's first café in the south.
  • Marriott Hotels' Moxy New Orleanswill debut in the Crescent City in April 2016 as one of the first U.S. locations of the hip European hotel line. Moxy New Orleans will feature 108 keyless-entry rooms in New Orleans' Central Business District.
    • The hotel brand aims to appeal to millennial travelers with inviting lobbies, self-service grab and go, free Wi-Fi and the Moxy Digital Guestbook for streaming videos and pictures
    • The openings of the Moxy Tempe in March and the Moxy New Orleans are the brand's first in the U.S.
• Spring marks the kickoff of festival season in New Orleans, with nationally acclaimed festivals taking the stage.
  • French Quarter Festival,the largest free music festival in the U.S., will kick off with 23 stages throughout the French Quarter April 7-10, featuring 1,700 musicians from every musical genre and more than 400 hours of live music.
    • More than two dozen new artists are making their French Quarter Festival debuts, including Cowboy Mouth, Buckwheat Zydeco and Sonny Landreth.
    • Other artists returning to the festival include Charmaine Neville, Treme Brass Band, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Amanda Shaw, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns and many more.
  • The acclaimed New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festivalwill return to the Fair Grounds Race Course for two weekends of both national and local live music April 22-24 and April 28-May 1.
    • Headliners include Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paul Simon, Snoop Dog and many more.
    • Local favorites at Jazz Fest this year include Irma Thomas, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Aaron Neville, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, and Grammy Award-winning Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS

• China Lights,an exhibition of more than 30 brightly lit silk covered structures, has debuted at New Orleans City Park's Botanical Garden, showcasing the work of more than 100 artisans from Sichuan Tianyu in Zigong, China.
  • China Lights includes a glowing 192-foot long dragon, a three-story lit-from-within pagoda tower, hundreds of lanterns and more.
  • The exhibition has been held across Europe and in other U.S. cities, most recently in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Spokane, Washington.
  • The exhibition will continue through May 1, 2016, open Tuesday-Sunday
• It's a busy spring in New Orleans for local entrepreneurs and business leaders:
  • The eighth annual New Orleans Entrepreneur Weekwill return to New Orleans March 11-18, 2016, bringing eight days of summits, showcases, panels, workshops and competitions to the Crescent City.
    • Programming includes 106 unique events, ranging from a Civic Innovation Summit held by Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the City of New Orleans to GNO, Inc.'s IDEAtour to recruit high-growth companies to the Greater New Orleans area.
    • As part of the programming, Idea Village will produce the free Elevate-Empower-Engage: Women's Business Summit on March 17th, giving the female business community the opportunity to convene on what it means to be locally significant and globally relevant from experts in the field.
  • Idea Village, a nonprofit promoting entrepreneurship in New Orleans, is partnering with leaders of six other startup hubs in the U.S. to showcase entrepreneurs from each community and attract investment for ventures in those regions.
    • Select entrepreneurs from New Orleans, Buffalo, Charleston, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham and San Antonio will participate in the Launch Pad PITCH, a March Madness-style pitch competition at the Collision global tech conference in New Orleans in April 2016. Winners will present to an audience of global investors.
• The month of March marks the kickoff of festival season in New Orleans:
  • Audubon Zoo will host its 13th annual Soul Fest March 5-6, a family-friendly festival celebrating jazz, gospel, and rhythm and blues artists in New Orleans. Acclaimed trombonist Glen David Andrews will headline the two-day event.
  • Buku Music + Art Project, an annual two-day music and arts festival, returns to Mardi Gras World March 11-12 and will feature performances from top acts including Pretty Lights, Kid Cudi, Nero and more.
  • The New Orleans Spring Fiesta Association will celebrate its 80th Annual Spring Fiesta and Historic Home Tours March 5-6 and 12-13, offering glimpses of historic homes that are not usually open to the public.
  • The Congo Square New World Rhythms Festival will celebrate the music and culture of the African Diaspora in Armstrong Park's Congo Square March 19-20.
  • The 38th annual Allstate Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic 10k will race through the Big Easy on March 26 with a popular post-race party featuring live music and local Creole cuisine.
  • The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary March 30-April 3, featuring a week of panels, theatrical events, tours and more in honor of New Orleans' literary history.
  • New Orleans is home to more than 129 annual festivals, most of which occur throughout the year.
• Other festivals on the horizon include:
  • Hogs for the Cause, the annual fundraising barbecue competition and music festival, returns to New Orleans City Park April 1-2 to benefit families with children fighting pediatric brain cancer.
  • The dog-friendly Brunch Fest NOLA will debut in New Orleans City Park on April 3 with brunch dishes and cocktails, a Bloody Mary Contest and opportunities to adopt animals all to benefit the Louisiana SPCA.
  • The inaugural NOLA Crawfish Festival, the newest addition to New Orleans' festival calendar, will take place April 25-27 at the NOLA Brewing Tap Room, offering a mini-festival of boiled crawfish and performances by local musicians.
  • The Jazz in the Park Treme Art & Music Festival will debut May 6-8, featuring two main stages of live music, marching bands, second lines, local food and crafts and more in Armstrong Park.
• For a full list of festivals, click here.

HOTELS

• The Henry Howard Hotelhas debuted in New Orleans' Garden District, featuring 18 rooms housed in a historic mansion constructed in 1867.
  • Named for the man who built the mansion, the Henry Howard Hotel was purchased by the Fitzgerald Hotel Group in 2015 and was reimagined as a luxury boutique hotel.
• Hotel 504has opened in the heart of New Orleans' Medical District, just steps from the French Quarter.
  • Formerly a Clarion property, Hotel 504 has reopened under Performance Hospitality and offers meeting and event space.
• Historic French Quarter hotel Chateau LeMoynehas completed its eight-month renovation, with updates to the hotel's 171 guest rooms, lobby, event spaces, courtyard and pool.
  • Named for founder of New Orleans Jean Baptiste LeMoyne, the hotel features 30 rooms with balconies overlooking the French Quarter, 11 historic suites and 2,000 square feet of versatile event space.
• The Hyatt House New Orleans/Downtowndebuted in New Orleans' Central Business District in November 2015, bringing 194 extended-stay hotel rooms to the downtown area.
  • Situated along the expanding Loyola Avenue streetcar line, the hotel is at the heart of New Orleans' Sports and Entertainment District and is also just steps away from the French Quarter and burgeoning BioDistrict.

RESTAURANTS

• B.B. King's Blues Clubhas opened on Decatur Street in New Orleans' French Quarter, featuring Memphis barbecue, classic New Orleans cuisine and music by local musicians seven days a week.
  • This is the second club to open since the music legend's death in 2015, and Tony Coleman, B.B. King's drummer for more than 30 years, serves as music director of the club.
  • The club has partnered with New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) to showcase local music students on stage, giving them the chance to work with other talented artists to hone their skills.
• Renowned Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chãohas opened its first Louisiana location in the J.W. Marriott Hotel, offering a variety of fire-roasted meats prepared by authentic gaucho chefs.
  • Fogo de Chão utilizes the gaucho traditions of “churrasco,” the art of roasting meats over an open fire, and “espeto corrido,” continuous service that allows guests to control variety and pacing of their meal.
  • The New Orleans culinary team is led by Head Gaucho Chef Carlos Girotto, who learned the gaucho style of cooking on his family farm in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

AWARDS

New Orleans continues to garner international attention as a world-class destination. Recent honors include:

• One of the “Best Cities in North America” by readers of Travel + Leisure
• One of the “Top 28 Hot Destinations of 2016” by TravelSquire.com
• One of the “Best Places to Travel in March” by Travel + Leisure
• The Louey Award for CVB of the Year awarded to the New Orleans CVB by the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association, January 2016
• The number one “Best Family Getaway in America” by TripAdvisor, January 2016
• The number one “Best City for an Affordable Wedding” by SmartAsset.com, January 2016
• One of the “Top 10 Winter Travel Destinations” by TripAdvisor, January 2016
• One of the “Top 10 Most Exciting Cities in the World” by The Culture Trip, January 2016

AIRPORT

• Louis Armstrong International Airport,the fastest growing airport in the U.S., served an all-time record-breaking 10,673,301 passengers in 2015, an increase in 9.1 percent over 2014. The airport has also added a variety of new flights:
  • GLO (One new seasonal thrice-weekly departure to Destin, beginning March 25, 2016)
  • Allegiant (One new twice weekly departure to Pittsburgh, beginning February 19, 2016)
  • Allegiant (two new twice-weekly flights to Jacksonville and St. Petersburg, Florida beginning January 2016)
  • GLO (One new daily departure to Shreveport, December 2015, and two new daily nonstop departures to Little Rock and Memphis, November 2015)
  • Spirit Airlines (One new daily flight to Los Angeles, beginning April 14, 2016)

PORT OF NEW ORLEANS

• The Port of New Orleanshandled a record 1,023,700 cruise passengers in 2015, topping the million-person mark for the second consecutive year.
  • The Port is set for another robust cruise season in 2016, with a 34 percent expansion in cruise capacity when the Carnival Triumph replaces the Carnival Elation.
  • American Cruise Lines will add a third riverboat, America, to its New Orleans home-ported fleet in 2016, accommodating 185 passengers on Mississippi River cruises.
  • In 2015, Viking announced that New Orleans would serve as the European river cruise line's first North American homeport, with six new ships scheduled to set sail beginning in fall 2017. 

MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS

Meetings (3,000 or more in attendance) include:

• Commodity Classic | March 3-5
  • Commodity Classic is where America's farmers meet with success. Commodity Classic is open to all friends of corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum—from growers to member associations to agribusiness to farm media. It's a one-of-a-kind convention and trade show—farmer-focused and farmer-led. You're guaranteed to walk away with ideas and energy that will have a profound and profitable impact on your farm. That's why growers from across the nation come back year after year after year.
  • Projected attendance: 10,000
• Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA): ICBA Community Banking LIVE® National Convention | March 6-10
  • The Independent Community Bankers of America represents the largest constituency of community banks of all sizes and charter types in the nation, and is dedicated exclusively to promoting the interests of the community banking industry. ICBA Community Banking LIVE provides attendees with updated information from industry experts and policymakers, educational offerings, networking opportunities and an exhibit hall filled with products and services to help them stay profitable and competitive.
  • Projected attendance: 3,000
• Sun Belt Conference: Men's & Women's Basketball Championship | March 9-13
  • The 2016 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championship presented by First Bank and Trust will take place from March 10-13, while the Women's Basketball Championship will take place from March 9-12 at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. The eight teams with the best conference winning percentages will compete for the Sun Belt Championship and a berth into the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships.
  • Projected attendance: 10,000
• Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA): HPBExpo | March 16-19
  • The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Expo is North America's largest indoor-outdoor living showcase. Every year, over 350 leading hearth, patio and barbecue manufacturers and suppliers exhibit and demonstrate their latest home heating solutions; grills, grilling accessories and fully-equipped outdoor kitchens; casual patio furniture and outdoor accents; water and landscape features; all-weather entertainment products and more. It's also a one-stop-shop for retailers nationwide to find not only the latest products for their showrooms, but also the latest services and technologies for their companies.
  • Projected attendance: 8,000
• Miller Coors, LLC: Annual National Distribution Convention | March 21-24
  • MillerCoors will be hosting its domestic beer distributors and key sales and marketing employees to lay out sales and marketing plans for the remainder of the year.
  • Projected attendance: 3,100

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